Love Never Felt So Good
by Kristie V
Summary: Steffy Forrester has found true love with Carter Walton, but there are opposing forces who don't believe in their love. A Carter/Steffy story. NOTE: I paired these two together because I think they would make a great couple on B&B.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

As she looked into his eyes, she could see the love he had for her, a love she had never known before.

She finally realized that she had found what she had always wanted.

She had found true love.

Steffy Forrester had found the one for her, & it wasn't who she thought it would be. This one was different.

He didn't use her like Rick Forrester did. He didn't lie to her about his feelings for her like Liam Spencer did. He loved her with all of his heart & soul.

Simply put, Carter Walton loved Steffy & only Steffy. No one else.

Here is their story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

It all began one day at Forrester Creations, the famous fashion company founded by Steffy's grandparents, Eric & Stephanie Forrester.

Steffy had been talking with her father Ridge concerning some news about Hope For The Future, one of FC's most successful fashion lines. It was a very interesting conversation.

"Who could have leaked this news to Radar Online?" asked RIdge angrily. "I don't know, Dad, but I do know that Hope didn't do it herself. She's worked very hard to make that line a success," said Steffy. Ridge was surprised by that comment.

"I'm surprised that you believe that, Steffy. I mean, you two are not the best of friends," said Ridge. "I know, Dad, but I'm tired of hating her. I just want this rivalry between us to end," said Steffy sadly. Ridge just sighed. He felt so bad for his daughter.

Steffy had been through so much ever since Ridge's marriage to her mother Taylor had ended. Form the death of her twin sister Phoebe to her two marriages to Liam Spencer to her rivalry with Hope Logan, Steffy felt that she had been through hell.

Now here was a professional crisis that threatened to put FOrrester Creations on its heels, & Steffy knew that her dad has no idea how to handle it.

"I'm sure Granddad will think of something to combat these rumors, Dad," said Steffy. Ridge just nodded. He knew his daughter was right on that part.

Ridge then suddenly remembered something. "Steffy, could you take these papers over to Carter Walton's office? He told me they were important," he said. "Sure, Dad," said Steffy who then hugged her father. She then took the file containing the documents & left.

As she made her way to his office, Steffy felt herself shake. Like everyone else, she liked Carter & had a lot of respect for him. Sure, she didn't know him personally except that he was the older, adopted brother of her ex Marcus Forrester. Still, she did think that he was very handsome.

Meanwhile, Carter Walton was going through some emails he had received, but work wasn't on his mind.

Something he had found on the Internet had. Something involving his ex, Maya Avant.

Ever since she had broken off their engagement & had gotten back together with Rick Forrester, who was now her fiance, Carter had been burying himself in work, thinking that it would help him.

However, it had made things worse.

Since Maya was still a spokeswoman for Hope For The Future, Carter had deal with seeing her pretty much every day. Seeing her with Rick & seeing that gorgeous diamond ring on her finger made Carter furious. He couldn't believe that she had moved on.

Now as he found himself staring into space, he wondered to himself if he would ever be happy again.

Then he was shaken out of his thoughts by someone yelling out, "Ow! God danmit!"

Carter ran over to the woman he saw, who was wearing a navy blue pantsuit, to see if she was OK.

"Are you OK?" he asked. "I'm fine. I think I dropped your file," said the woman whose voice Carter didn't really recognize.

When she looked up at him & their eyes met was when he realized who she was.

Carter found himself looking into the beautiful blue eyes of Steffy Forrester.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2:

Carter found himself at a complete loss for words as he & Steffy just stared at each other.

Sure, he knew that she had once dated his brother Marcus, & that she had previously been married to Liam Spencer, but that was all Carter knew about Steffy.

However, he wasn't thinking about what he knew about her. All he knew was that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"I'm so sorry about that," said an embarressed Steffy. "Sorry about what?" asked Carter. "Dropping your file. My dad asked me to bring it over to you," said Steffy. "That's OK. I'm just glad that you brought it here," said Carter with a reassuring smile. Steffy could feel a smile of her own come across her face.

As they grabbed the file & began to put the documents in order, Carter decided to see if he could get Steffy to laugh. He had to find out if his sense of humore had an effect on her.

Turns out, it did. Steffy laughed at a lot of Carter's witty one-liners & silly jokes. Throughout that laugh fest, they were able to get the file organized.

After teh file got put back together, something came to Carter's mind. Something he wanted to ask Steffy.

"Steffy?" he asked. "Yes, Carter?" she asked, unsure of what he wanted. His response surprised her.

"Would you like to go out with me?" he asked. Steffy looked at him with wide eyes.

She hadn't been on a date with anyone in a long time. Her relationships with both Rick & Liam didn't involve romantic dinners or walks on the beach. She was very confused.

Still, since Liam was no longer a part of her life, Steffy figured that it might be good for her to date someone.

So she replied to Carter's question with "Sure." Carter smiled, happy that she had accepted.

"Do you want to go out for coffee? I know a place that serves the best coffee in LA, & it's not Starbucks or Dayzee's," said Carter with a smile. Steffy nodded her head.

"That sounds great. I can't wait, Carter," said Steffy. "Would you like to go right now?" asked Carter. Steffy again nodded & said, "I would love to. Let me go get my jacket real quickly." She then left for her office

As she made her way to there to grab her jacket, Steffy felt like she was floating on air.

She just hoped that the feeing would last.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3:

A few minutes after being in his office, Steffy found herself in Carter's car as he made his way through morning LA traffic to get to one of his favorite coffee shops, Aladdin's.

The ride there had been fun. Carter made her laugh pretty much the whole way there. Steffy had to admit to herself that she very much enjoyed his sense of humor.

When they got to Aladdin's & got themselves a table, Steffy got the conversation going.

"What is it about being a lawyer that you enjoy the most?" asked Steffy as she & Carter waited for their coffees to arive. "Helping people. That was something my parents were very big on," said Carter. "So what made you decide to take a job as a lawyer for my family's company?" asked Steffy. "I just felt that maybe the company needed help. I had no idea what I was getting into when I took the job," said Carter. "So is that why you decided try acting? To get away from the craziness involving my family & the business?" asked Steffy. "That's part of it. I mean, if I had known what Caroline's intentions really were, I never would've accepted that part in 'Room 8'," said Carter who frowned when mentioning the web series that he & Maya had been a part of.

Steffy found herself feeling bad for Carter. She had heard from various people about what Rick's ex-wife Caroline Spencer had done in order to try & get Rick back. The story had even made its way to TMZ.

However, Steffy realized that the subject of "Room 8" was probably a very senstive one for Carter so she decided to talk about something else.

"Have you heard from your brother lately? asked Steffy. "Yeah I have. In fact, he called me via Skype last night," said Carter who was now smiling. "Really? What did he say?" asked Steffy who was now smiling herself.

"He said everything's good. He & Dayzee are loving Paris right now," said Carter.

However, Steffy noticed something was off about that comment. She had a feeling that mentioning Dayzee had something to do with it.

"Do you like Dayzee?" asked Steffy. "What do you mean? I mean, she is my brother's wife," said Carter who was wondering where Steffy was going with this.

"I mean, do you like her as a person?" asked Steffy. "Honestly? Not really. I have always had this feeling that she may not be as crazy about Marcus as he is about her," said Carter sadly.

"How's that?" asked Steffy. "I think she may be in love with someone else," said Carter. The sad tone in his voice told Steffy that maybe she should change the subject again so she did.

"Are you looking forward to football season coming up?" asked Steffy who was a bit of a football fan. "Am I ever! I can't wait, Steffy," said Carter who grew up loving University of Texas football. "You think the Longhorns will win the national championship this year?" asked Steffy with a grin. "Only if the SEC disappears off the face of the Earth," said a laughing Carter.

As the date went on, both Carter & Steffy felt very much at ease with each other & enjoyed each other's company very much. as they both went back to Forrester Creations, there was only one thing on their minds.

They wanted to be around each other a lot more.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4:

A couple of days after their date, Steffy went over to Carter's office to see how things were with him. She had become worried about him.

Ever since their date, they had talked on the phone for what seemed like hours on end. The conversations would either be serious or funny, but either way, both enjoyed talking with each other.

Seeing each other in person was proving to be difficult, however.

Knowing that he took his work as a corporate lawyer very seriously, Steffy knew that there would be moments where Carter would be very busy.

Still, she wasn't prepared for what she would see when she stopped by his office to see if he wanted to chat & head out to lunch with her.

Steffy gently opened his door to see him looking miserable. That got her concerned big time.

"Carter?" she asked. He lifted his head up & got up as soon as he saw her. He went straight to her & did the unexpected.

Carter took Steffy in his arms & held her close.

Steffy found herself in a state of shock. This wasn't what she was expecting.

Despite that, she found herself enjoying being in Carter's strong arms. It felt good.

Still, the enjoyment didn't ease the worry Steffy was feeling for Carter.

"What's wrong?" asked Steffy. Carter didn't respond. He just continued to hold her.

"Carter?" she asked. He then looked at her & gently stroked her cheek.

"I just got some bad news, Steff," said Carter sadly. "What is it?" she asked. He just sighed as he told her.

"Marcus called me earlier today & told me that Dayzee has left him," said Carter. Steffy looked at him stunned.

"How can that be? I mean, I thought you told me that things were great between them," said Steffy. "I thought things between them were great too, Steff. I guess we were both wrong," said Carter.

Steffy then remembered what he had told her on their date about his suspicions about Dayzee possibly still being in love with someone else.

"Do you think she left Marcus for another man?" asked Steffy. "Anything's possible. Only Marcus & Dayzee know for sure," said Carter sadly. They then embraced again.

Steffy couldn't help but feel terrible for Carter. First, Maya had left him & reunited with Rick. Now Dayzee had left Marcus. Steffy wondered what else could go wrong.

Then her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Carter's desk phone ringing.

"Excuse me please, Steff," he said as he went to take the phone call.

"Carter Walton speaking...yes?...all right...I'll make sure he knows what's going on. Thank you. Good bye." He then hung up & went right back to Steffy.

"I'm sorry, Steff, but I have to go talk to your grandfather about something," said Carter. "Something legal-related?" asked Steffy. "Yeah, but before I go, I want to ask you something," said Carter. "What is it?" asked Steffy. Carter then began to smile.

"How about I meet you here, & we can go to my place where I'll make some dinner?" asked Carter. "Do you know how to cook?" asked Steffy with a bit of a chuckle. "A little bit. I know how to make a couple of my mom's favorite recipes," said Carter. Steffy's smile got bigger as she said, "Sure." The two then embraced, & Carter went off to meet with Eric.

As she sat in his chair, Steffy found herself wondering about something. Something that scared her.

She wondered if she was falling in love with Carter.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5:

After his meeting with Eric, Carter did what he said he would do. He met Steffy at his office, & they were off to his new apartment near downtown LA to have a home-cooked meal.

For Steffy, this was exciting. She was eager to see what he could do in the kitchen.

For Carter, he was excited. He couldn't wait for Steffy to see the kind of home-cooked meal he had in mind.

When they got there, Carter went straight to his refridgerator & grabbed a container that had 3 chicken breasts in it. He then grabbed a pot & put some vegatable oil in as well as a thermometer so that he could make sure the oil was at the right temperture.

Then Steffy figured it out. Carter was making fried chicken & waffles. That had her a bit confused.

"Have you ever been to Roscoe's?" asked Steffy referring to Los Angeles's most famous place for chicken & waffles. "I have. Marcus & I have been there a couple of times," said Carter. "What did you think of it?" asked Steffy. "We both thought it was good, but nothing compares to my mom's homemade fried chicken & waffles," said Carter with a smile.

After getting the chicken breaded, Carter carefully put the chicken in the pot to cook then went right to the waffles. Steffy watched him very carefully.

When dinner was ready, Carter grabbed a couple of bottles of peach iced tea out of his fridge & served himself & Steffy with a piece of fried chicken & a waffle. They then dug in.

Steffy couldn't believe it. Carter's fried chicken & waffles were amazing. She could taste a little bit of cayenne pepper as she bit into a piece of the chicken. The waffles were amazing as well. She devoured every bite of her meal.

"This is great, Carter! I love this," siad Steffy with a smile. "Thank you, Steff. I appreciate that," said Carter with a big smile of his own.

Then the unexpected happened.

Carter went over to Steffy & gave her a very sweet kiss that blew her away.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6:

Steffy could feel herself give in to the kiss. To her, it was amazing.

However, as soon as their lips parted, she felt terrible. She didn't want the kiss to end.

Carter, however, felt guilty. He knew that kissing Steffy was what he wanted, but knowing what she had gone through with Liam, he didn't want to push her.

"I'm sorry, Steff," said Carter sadly. "For what? I liked it," she said. "I just don't want to push you, that's all," said Carter. Steffy then looked down sadly.

However, feeling her feelings for him grow, Steffy put down her plate on the coffeetable & gently lifted Carter's face so that she could look into his eyes. She then made her move.

Steffy kissed him, & he responded by taking her in his arms.

They made out for what seemed like forever, each enjoying the other.

However, Carter freaked out.

"Wait a minute..." he began to say. "Carter, what's wrong?" said Steffy. "Don't you think we're going a little too fast here?" he asked. Steffy looked at him in surprise.

"Why do you ask that? Do you think I'm not over Liam?" asked Steffy. "I don't know. Are you?" asked Carter who was feeling very uncertain. Steffy simply took his hand in hers.

"Yes, I am," said Steffy. "When I left for Paris, I wanted Liam to move on. I finally took some time for myself. I got to know myself a lot better. Sure, I still loved him & hated myself for allowing Quinn Fuller to manipulate the situation, but I knew that I couldn't be with Liam again. I knew that I couldn't risk having him break my heart again. So, yes, I am over him."

Carter simply nodded his head. He understood where Steffy was coming from. Sometimes it took getting to know yourself as a person in order to move on.

"Do you want to finish this before it gets cold?" asked Carter with a smile. "Yeah," said Steffy. He then kissed her hand, & they went back to enjoying their dinner.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7:

Over the next couple of weeks, Carter & Steffy grew closer. They continued to spend time together, & their feelings for each other continued to grow.

However, for Steffy, something was preventing her from telling Carter that she loved him.

That "something" was her ex-husband Liam Spencer.

Even though Steffy was over him, seeing him come & go as he pleased at Forrester Creations was difficult for her. She did still love him, but she knew that they could never be together again. She couldn't risk having him hurt her again. It would too much for her to take.

So one morning, Steffy was making her way to Carter's office when she noticed Liam coming out of Brooke's office.

Seeing him made her very nervous. She had to think of something fast in order for him not to see her.

Then it came to her.

Steffy decided to take a shortcut.

As she went from one lenghty hallway to another, she hoped that Liam, who had been talking to Brooke about his upcoming wedding to Hope, hadn't seen her.

She wouldn't know for sure until later.

At the moment, all Steffy could hope for was that she could make it to Carter's office so that they could go out to iHop for breakfast.

Turns out Carter was witinng for her when she got there, & she didn't like what she saw when she got there.

Carter was in a foul mood.

"What's wrong?" asked Steffy as she closed the door. "Guess, Steff," said Carter. "Rick?" asked Steffy. "Yeah," sighed Carter. "What's it about this time? Does my father have something to do with it?" asked Steffy. "Maybe," said Carter. "Why do you say that?" asked Steffy.

Carter looked at her with a very serious look on his face. "Don't get me wrong, Steff. I'm just as angry as you are over what happened between your father and Caroline," he said. "If he hadn't taken advantage of her like he did, she & Rick would still be married. However, Rick thinks that I should just give up corporate law & be Ridge's personal lawyer." He then frowned as he remembered the day that he called Ridge an asshole & threatened to quit Forrester Creations if he became CEO.

Steffy felt terrible for Carter so she went up to him & hugged him. They held each other close.

However, they were unaware that they were being watched.

They were being watched by none other then Liam.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8:

Liam could feel the jealously course through his veins as he watched his ex-wife being held by a man that he didn't really know.

"She's with Carter now?" Liam thought as he continued to watch Carter & Steffy hug.

Sure, he knew that she had once dated Marcus before Rick seduced her & took advantage of her, but never did Liam think that Steffy would interested in Carter. She had never once spoken of him.

Now here she was in his arms. Liam found himself cringing at the sight.

Still, he knew that he shouldn't hang around. He and Hope were finally going to be married so Liam decided to leave & go back to Rick's office to wait for Hope, who was working on a new ad campaign for Hope For The Future with his half-brother Wyatt Fuller.

Meanwhile, Steffy was enjoying being in Carter's arms. She felt safe, protected.

The feeling, however, didn't last because they heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," said Carter who then gave Steffy a quick kiss & went to the door.

Turns out that the vistor was Steffy's cousin Ivy Forrester, who was back from visiting her family in Australia. She & Steffy embraced, & Ivy started telling them all about her trip.

Back in Rick's office, Liam was seated in a plush chair thinking about what he had seen earlier. The pain he felt in his heart egan to eat at him.

Sure, Liam had been a jackass to both Steffy & Hope, but deep down he didn't mean to be that way. Both had everything he had ever wanted in a woman. The problem was deciding which one did he love more.

Now Liam was starting to realize that maybe Steffy was right about something. Maybe they were never meant to be together in the first place. Maybe Hope was the one for him.

However, Liam couldn't stop feeling jealous after seeing Steffy with Carter. He didn't want her to move on. He didn't want to let her go.

Then again, maybe Liam had no choice.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9:

As the day of Liam & Hope's wedding came, excitement went through the halls of Forrester Creations. Everyone was eager & excited.

Except for two. Carter & Steffy.

On the day of the wedding, they had decided to go to his place & just hang out. They had chosen a couple of movies to watch, & Steffy had volunteered to make popcorn. This particular Saturday was going to be a great one.

As they sat down in Carter's living room & started watching _Guardians of The Galaxy,_ everything felt right. Steffy was in Carter's arms as they were feeding each other popcorn, sharing kisses, & laughing at the movie's funniest scenes.

However, the sweet moment would get interuppted by the ringing of Steffy's phone.

"Do you think I answer that?" asked Steffy. "Maybe. Could be your father. I'll pause the movie," said Carter who then grabbed the remote for his Blu-Ray disc player while Steffy grabbed her phone out of her jacket.

"Hello?...Hi, Dad, how did the wedding go?...really?...oh my God, are you serious?!...wow! I can't believe this...well, I'll talk to you at work on Monday...love you, Dad. Bye," siad Steffy who then shut her phone off.

"What was that about?" asked Carter. "Hope left Liam at the alter," said a shocked Steffy. "Are you serious? I thought this was going to be it," said Carter. "I guess not," said Steffy. She then explained to Carter what Ridge had told her.

As it turned out, Hope had taken off her engagement ring & had sneaked out of the church. Maya had found the ring on a dressing table in the brides' room after Brooke had asked her to find out what was taking Hope so long.

Now Liam was left wondering what he had done to deserve it. Steffy knew that trust had been a major issue in his & Hope's relationship, & that she had caused it to be an issue because of her meddling.

Just knowing that caused Steffy to start crying.

Carter took her in his arms & held her close as she sobbed. He knew that her messing with Liam & Hope's relationship was something that Steffy would regret for the rest of her life. He just felt horrible for her.

"Steff..." he started to say. However, she looked up at him & put her finger to his lips. The she shocked him with these words:

"I love you, Carter."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10:

Carter looked at Steffy in shock. He had no idea what to say.

She had just admitted to loving him after receiving a call from her father telling her that Hope had left Liam at the alter. Carter wasn't sure what to think.

Despite that, he knew what he wanted to say.

"I love you too, Steffy," he said as he felt tears coming to his eyes. Then he did the only thing he felt that he could do.

Carter planted his lips right on Steffy's, & she responded by holding on to him, letting the kiss get deeper & more passionate.

The next thing they knew, they were in his bedroom, making love for the first time.

Carter was gentle & loving, not desperate like Liam had been. Steffy could feel the pleasure coursing through her veins as she let herself go & let everything happen.

As her orgasm came & went for what seemed like forever, Steffy felt spent. She had never experienced anything like it before, & it felt so good.

As she & Carter snuggled up to each other, she looked deep into his eyes. She felt like she was looking into his soul, & what she saw amazed her.

Steffy saw Carter's love for her & only her. It was wonderful.

"I love you, Steff," siad Carter with a smile. "I love you," said Steffy with tears rolling down her face.

As they fell alsleep in each other's arms, both looked forward to whatever may come.

A couple of days after she & Carter had made love, Steffy was at Forrester Creations heading to her father's office to talk about what had happened at Hope & Liam's wedding.

As she made her way there, Steffy noticed something that disturbed her.

She saw her stepmother Brooke go into Ridge's office. That got Steffy curious so she went over to the door so that she could listen in.

What she heard shocked her.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11:

Steffy stood frozen at the door to her father's office as she listened to Brooke talk to someone that Steffy suspected was Rick. She felt herself shake as she listened carefully.

"Seriously, Mom, you need to listen to me," said Rick. "I understand that you support your sister's decision to leave Liam like she did, but I don't," growled Brooke. "I know you don't, but did you ever think for one minute that maybe Hope no longer loves Liam?" asked Rick.

Outside the office, Steffy could only imagine what the look on Brooke's face was in reaction to Rick's question.

"No. I mean, they have been through so much together. This was finally their chance to be happy together. It's not like how it was with Steffy," said Brooke.

Steffy could now feel herself burning up with anger. Sure, Brooke had raked her over the coals for what she had done to Hope & Liam, & Steffy knew that she deserved it, but to hear Brooke's words just angered her to the core.

Still, Steffy decided to do the smart thing & not barge in.

"Steffy knows that what she did was wrong, Mom, but she has moved on so leave her out of this," said Rick angrily. Steffy smiled hearing him defend her like he did even though their relationship had ended years ago.

"Well, Rick, I think Hope made a mistake. I just hope that she hasn't gotten together with that Wyatt character," said Brooke. Steffy heard Rick sigh.

Now Steffy was aware of who Wyatt Fuller was. She had a feeling that, in addition to being Hope's best friend, that he was very much in love with her.

Steffy remembered having talked to Wyatt once & found herself very impressed by him. He was smart, funny, & kind, qualities that any woman would want in a man. She could see why Hope liked him so much & trusted him so much.

Now here was Brooke hoping that her daughter wouldn't hook up with Wyatt. Steffy hoped that Brooke was wrong.

After hearing Brooke say, "Well, I have to talk to your father about something so I'll see you & Maya later," Steffy then quickly ran off to Carter's office until she felt that it was safe to go to Ridge's office.

Meanwhile, Carter was looking over some litigation concerning some Forrester Creations business when Steffy came racing into his office. He wondered what had caused her to come running over here.

"What is it, babe?" he asked. "You won't believe what I heard," said Steffy. "Tell me," said an interested Carter.

Steffy told him all that she had heard. Carter was impressed when he heard about Rick defending both her & Hope & got annoyed when he heard about what Brooke had said about the whole thing.

"I swear, Steff, I really don't understand your family at times," said Carter shaking his head. "You're telling me. Sometimes I don't understand them either," said Steffy who then went into Carter's arms.

The two embraced for seemed like forever until the moment was interuptted.

It was ruined by none other then Ridge.


End file.
